Genealogy Research in Portugal & Brazil
Climbing Your Family Tree Around the World
Ana Ghia-Pereira
Ottawa Stake Family History CenterMay 26, 2007
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Vital Records in Portugal
Council of Trent (1564) mandates that priests keep a records of all baptisms, marriages and deaths in the parish
Until 1911 records are kept by the Church
After 1911 all records become the responsibility of Civil registration Offices
Records are not indexed
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Vital Records in Portugal (cont.)
Access– Access to Portuguese vital records is not restricted.– Current records can be obtained, by anyone, for a fee.– Can be requested online
Where from?– Civil Registry Offices
• Records from 1912 until today
– National Archives and District Archives• Records prior to 1911
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Information contained in VitalRecords
Baptism:– Name, date and parish of birth and baptism, names of parents,
grandparents and godparents and where they’re from
Marriage:– Name, date and parish of marriage, names and ages of bride and
groom, names of parents and godparents and where they’re from.
Death:– Name, date and parish where death occurred, name and age of
deceased, status, name of husband/wife if known, cause of death.
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Requesting vital records
Archives– Books with last record at least 90 years old
– You can check the records yourself
– About 80% available in microfilm
– It is faster if parish is known
– Photocopies provided at very low cost
Civil Registry Offices– Records from 1912 to today
– You have to request a certificate
– Expensive: about $25 per certificate
– You must know the parish and the year
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Requests Online
Certidões Online– http://www.portaldocidadao.pt/PORTAL/pt/certidoes_online/– Need to provide:
Name Date or at least year of birth, marriage, death Parish where it happened Parents names, if known
– Cost Eu$16.65 (about $25)– Very fast turnaround– Make sure you ask for a “cópia integral” (full copy) and in the comments
ask for a photocopy of the record, otherwise the transcription will not include all data
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Birth certificate (recent)
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Birth record (from microfilm)
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Research Online - Portugal
Gene Web Roglo– http://geneweb.inria.fr/roglo?lang=en
A database of 2 million persons. Contains trees from all over Europe. Many well known Portuguese genealogists contributed info.
Braga District Archive– http://www.adb.uminho.pt/index.htm
Searchable database on the contents of 37,800 records of seminarians. Dates: 1620-1910. Name of person, parentage; where from and references to other processes.
Porto District Archive– http://www.adporto.org/
In collaboration with the Genealogical society of Utah, making available online images of parish records.
NEPS (University of Minho, Portugal)– http://www.neps.ics.uminho.pt/index.html
Several databases from various parishes in the north of Portugal. Not intuitive to use. Uses rolo software but leading pages are in Portuguese.
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Useful Links - Portugal
Portuguese National Archives (Torre do Tombo) http://www.iantt.pt/index.html
– All records pertaining to Portuguese royal house, title grants, inquisition, etc. Records date from the creation of Portugal, around 1128.
Genea Portugal http://genealogia.netopia.pt/home/
– Portuguese genealogy site. Includes published trees, photos, and a forum. Cost: $30 per year
Cindy’s List http://www.cyndislist.com/portugal.htm
– 148 links to excellent sites, mostly in English
Portuguese Genealogist Masterlist http://www.dholmes.com/master-l.html
– People put their contact information and the names they are researching to find others doing the same
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Useful Links - Portugal
Associação Online de Autores de Genealogia em Portugês– http://pwp.netcabo.pt/0437301501/gene/links.htm
Excellent page of links for sites of genealogical importance for the Portuguese genealogist. Includes English sites.
Portuguese Mailing Lists on Rootsweb– http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/PRT/
Portugal, Madeira Exiles (Portuguese Presbyterian exiles from Madeira who emigrated to Trinidad and Illinois), Azores, Azores-DNA, Portuguese-Nobility, and PRT-Madeira
LusaWeb– http://www.lusaweb.com/
Very useful site, dedicated to Americans from Portuguese descent. Cost: US$25 per year. Cannot do much unless a member
Short Portuguese Lessons– http://alfarrabio.di.uminho.pt/spl/
From the University of Minho
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Vital Records in Brazil
Vital record kept by the Church, start in 1616
Civil Registration starts in big cities around 1863
After 1888 all records officially become the responsibility of Civil registration Offices (Ofício do Registro Civil das Pessoas
Naturais) Records are not indexed
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Vital Records in Brazil (cont.)
Access– Access to Brazilian vital records is not restricted.– Current records can be obtained, by anyone, for a
fee.– Can be requested online
Where from?– Family Search
• http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp
– Available for purchase online• http://www.cartoriobrasileiro.com.br/
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Information contained in VitalRecords
Baptism:– Name, date and parish of birth and baptism, names of parents,
grandparents and godparents and where they’re from
Marriage:– Name, date and parish of marriage, names and ages of bride and
groom, names of parents and godparents and where they’re from.
Death:– Name, date and parish where death occurred, name and age of
deceased, status, name of husband/wife if known, cause of death.
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Where in Brazil?
Church records from 1616 to 1940’s Civil registration from 1863 to 2005
Mostly in eastern states Not many records from the states in the
interior (Amazonia, Acre, Mato Grosso, etc.)
Available in microfilm from Family History Library
– Births until about 1950’s– Marriages until about 1960’s– Deaths until 2005
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Birth record (from microfilm)
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Death certificate
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Research online - Brazil
Surname Navigator – Brazil– http://www.kuijsten.de/navigator/brazil/
Excellent link. Searches all of LDS databases from Brazil, Geneanet, Genforum Brazil, Rootsweb, and the Brazilian White pages
Projeto Imigrantes– http://www.projetoimigrantes.com.br/
Database with almost 3 million names of immigrants arrived since 1737. Expensive! R50. (about $27) for a listing of surname researched
Cartório Brasileiro– http://www.cartoriobrasileiro.com.br/
Online service for the request of birth, marriage, and death certificates. It uses electronic translation services. Costs vary depending on where is the certificate from. Between $30 and $40 per certificate.
Payment via international money order.
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Useful Links - Brasil
Genealogias.org– http://www.genealogias.org/
Lots of useful info. Contains several databases and articles by Brazilian genealogists. Links to genealogical societies in Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná
Brazil Genweb– http://www.rootsweb.com/~brawgw
Lbase with almost 3 million names of immigrants arrived since 1737
Brazil Research Outline– http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/rg/frameset_rg.asp?Dest=G1&Guide=Brazil.asp
From the Family History Library, a 37-page downloadable PDF document
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The Future
Immigrant Ancestors Project– http://immigrants.byu.edu/
– Sponsored by the Center for Family History and Genealogy at Brigham Young University
– Uses emigration registers to locate information about the birthplaces of immigrants, usually not found in port registers and naturalization documents.
– Data transcribed by volunteers across the globe, available on the web
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The Future (cont.)
Scanstone Project– Conversion of microfilm images into digital
images. Fully indexed.– Depending on the laws of the country of origin,
some images might be available on the web.– Presently doing US, Canada, British Isles and
Wales.
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The Future (cont.)
University of Porto– In collaboration with the Genealogical Society of Utah,
bringing into the web the images of parish records. Fully indexed.
– Expect to scan and make available on the web all the parish records in the Porto District (416 parishes)
– Already in progress. No completion date given.
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The Future (cont.)
University of Coimbra– Project to scan and make available on the web more than a million
records of births or marriages, among others documents from 1459 until now.
13,000 parish books of births, marriages, and deaths 21,000 land and property documents, wills and probate records
– Project will cost 30,000 euros and is funded by the Portuguese Ministry of Science and Technology.
– Expected completion by mid-2008.
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Questions?
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